Google’s Chrome OS Coming This Fall

Google announced on Wednesday that it plans to release its Chrome operating system for free this fall.

“We are working on bringing the device later this fall,” said Google vice president of product management Sundar Pichai at CompuTex Taipei, Asia’s biggest IT trade show.

“It’s something which we are very excited by … We expect it to reach millions of users on day one,” he said.

The Chrome operating system is an open source software based on the Chrome browser, which is designed to work exclusively with web applications.

According to Google, over 70 million people use the Chrome browser.

Analysts said they are still skeptical on Google’s ability to challenge Microsoft by stepping into the operating system business. Microsoft’s software currently runs over 90 percent of all personal computers.

Open source operating systems allow companies like Acer to develop their own versions of the software using the skeleton provided by Google to fit their own needs. Its presentation may be different between brands.

“Chrome OS is one of the few future operating systems for which there are already millions of applications that work,” Pichai said. “You don’t need to redesign Gmail for it to work on Chrome. Facebook does not need to write a new app for Chrome.”